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Sex worker wins right to work from motel

A sex worker has won an anti-discrimination case against motel owners in a Queensland mining town who refused to rent her a room.

The ruling could have wider implications in Queensland, where the mining boom is also fuelling a boom in the sex trade.

The Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal has ruled the owners of Moranbah's Drovers Rest Motel, southwest of Mackay, contravened the Anti-Discrimination Act.

The Gold Coast-based sex worker, who can only be identified as GK, had stayed at the motel 17 times in two years until owners Evan and Joan Hartley discovered in 2010 she was bringing clients to her room.

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They then banned her from staying at the motel.

GK lost her anti-discrimination case last year but appealed last month.

A hearing date is yet to be set to decide on compensation for GK, who sought $30,000 last year.

The owners' barrister, David Edwards, told AAP his clients were considering an appeal.

During the tribunal hearing, GK's lawyer argued many people used the telephone or internet at the motel for business, and a bed was no different.